Knowledge Translation: A 'Research Matters' Toolkit

This toolkit (released in draft mode, with a final version expected in mid-2009) focuses on knowledge translation (KT), a process of linking research with action in an ongoing, two-way dialogue. It emerges from Research Matters (RM), a collaboration of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). In this Toolkit, the RM team explores both ideas and practical steps associated with the effective exchange and translation of sound and innovative research among a wide range of research users, "inviting you to try them out, share them, comment, and join with us in helping to achieve our shared goals of health and social equity."

Contents include:

1. The Introduction and Foreword provide an overview of the Toolkit's aims, goals, and means - highlighting such fundamentals as the 3 core KT principles:
   • Knowledge - KT efforts at any level depend upon a robust, accessible, and contextualised knowledge base.
   • Dialogue - The relationships at the heart of KT can only be sustained through regular, two-way dialogue and exchange.
   • Capacity - Researchers, decision-makers, and other research-users require a strengthened skill-base to create and respond to KT opportunities.
2. Chapter Two attempts to demystify the "demand side" of research, discussing some approaches and strategies for promoting linkage and exchange, and providing some examples that have successfully brought in the demand side. It includes a discussion of knowledge brokering and the emergence of KT platforms.
3. Chapter Three examines knowledge management (KM), which is about identifying, capturing, and sharing knowledge. It outlines the steps in devising an overarching KM strategy, and then examines a variety of different KM tools in theory and in action, including after action reviews, knowledge audits, storytelling, and the peer assist.
   
4. Chapter Four examines the art of context mapping, a process of understanding and adapting to the needs, politics, and "realities" of our environment so we might more effectively interact with it. It explores mapping theory, illustrating it through practical tools and a particular, fictitious example where the evidence is not definitive.
5. Chapter Five explores the concept of evaluative thinking (ET), which makes evaluation a full-time, built-in mind-set. It discusses some key concepts, reviews some critical ET tools, and concludes with 4 suggestions for developing effective ET strategies.
   
6. Chapter Six focuses on designing a communications strategy. In addition to theory, it outlines 10 essential elements that any strategy must address - emphasising the need to focus less on tools (a video documentary, for instance) and more on how communications will help achieve one's core goals.
7. "Communicating Research: Using Print Media" discusses peer-reviewed articles, newspaper articles, press releases, policy briefs, and newsletters.
8. Chapter Eight is an action-oriented brief that takes the contested issue of male circumcision and HIV prevention and moves, step-by-step, through the process of distilling purely scientific findings into a 2-pager that concludes with a set of viable policy options.
9. Chapter Nine is dedicated to systematic reviews, a KT tool that assesses - fairly and objectively - all relevant knowledge on a question at hand.
   
10. Chapter Ten outlines the logic behind open access (OA), the history, the various "routes" to OA, and then explains how researchers can both access and contribute to open access repositories and journals.
11. Chapter Eleven discusses the art of the presentation and creating the "next wave" of conferences. It examines oral presentations (making speeches more memorable, and using technology as a responsible support), poster presentations (choosing the right content, look, and size), and conference presentations (how to better involve rapporteurs and chairs in capturing main messages and creating a dynamic and used conference record).
12. "Tapping Technology: Integrating Applications" focuses on email, the internet, and word processing, exploring how to start using these applications in a more integrated and ultimately more intelligent fashion.

The Toolkit is offered primarily to researchers working on health policy and systems issues in low- and middle-income countries, but it may be of interest to other audiences as well.

Editor's note (February 25 2009): The authors request that readers monitor the RM website for a final version.